The head of the watchdog that oversees the New South Wales police force has implored officers to always use body-worn cameras, arguing that if they are acting responsibly, “they should have nothing to worry about”.
The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (Lecc) chief commissioner, Peter Johnson SC, has also suggested the state government shouldn’t expand already “significant” police powers.
In his first interview since taking on the role 18 months ago, Johnson said he was concerned about the reticence of some officers – often older members – to use body-worn cameras, and wanted to increase their use.
“We’re hammering the message, quite frankly, at every opportunity,” he told Guardian Australia.
“Body-worn is there. Firstly, wear it. Secondly, activate it. Thirdly, download it when there are incidents involving it which call for that to occur.”
Johnson said footage from body-worn cameras and from within cars was “part and parcel of contemporary policing” and it needed to be embraced.
“Police shouldn’t be suspicious of it. They shouldn’t be reluctant to do it. They should be doing it. It’s in everyone’s interest, including their own,” he said.
“Police who are dealing with people properly, which is what they’re meant to be doing, should have nothing to worry about by having it on.”
Earlier this year, Guardian Australia revealed a plan had been delayed indefinitely to automatically activate body-worn cameras when police officers draw Tasers or guns.
The Lecc has repeatedly recommended that police update guidelines to instruct officers to turn cameras on in certain situations, including domestic and family violence incidents. The police did not support that recommendation.
While the use of body-worn cameras was “strongly encouraged”, it remains up to the discretion of the attending officer.
Johnson said police were often slow to adopt new strategies and throw out old ones that were causing harm.
“There are overwhelmingly police who want to do the right thing, and by and large do so. What one can find, however, is that the police force can be a little slow to change or to consider reforms and so that could be a problem,” he said.
“Learning from the lessons of history doesn’t seem to be something that they do very well.”
The Lecc was established in 2017 to strengthen law enforcement integrity by discovering and investigating misconduct.
The commission also monitors critical incidents, which are interactions with police that result in deaths or serious injuries. Police are responsible for investigating these incidents and the Lecc oversees them.
Johnson said there was a pattern in NSW of governments handing extra powers to police to deal with issues of the day.
“Some police powers which have been added in the last 20 years have been quite effective … but as for increasing powers to be exercised by police in the streets every day, I think that’s an area where some caution is needed,” he said.
The commission has released several scathing reports since Johnson joined in 2022. He said police use of force, officers’ responses to mental health incidents and the over-policing of young Aboriginal people were among his top concerns.
There have been calls for a parliamentary inquiry or a royal commission into the use of force after the deaths of Clare Nowland and other vulnerable people in NSW, but Johnson did not support that approach, given the Lecc had already made many recommendations.
“I’m not sure what a broad-ranging inquiry would add,” he said.
“It’s an important issue, though, and it’s a recurring issue. I can understand why there’s community concern.”
Johnson said there needed to be better training for police in dealing with mental health callouts and an emphasis on de-escalation.
“Having seen some of these incidents, as we do on body-worn video, often things move very quickly. It’s very challenging,” he said.
“What ends up so often [happening] is not only is there a tragic outcome with someone dying, and their family and the community being affected by that, but the police officers are usually severely adversely affected.”
Johnson has separately raised concerns with the state government about the commission’s role in monitoring critical incidents.
“The legislation creates both the powers that we have, but also the boundaries of what we can do,” he said.
“We only exercise a monitoring or oversight function, we can’t investigate. The limits of our powers and the way they work is something which is under consideration.”
Despite the Lecc Act providing power for investigators to be present as observers when officers are interviewed by superiors over such incidents, the oversight body said the power appeared “illusory” in its most recent annual report.
The commission received more than 4,700 complaints and conducted 56 investigations in the 12 months to June 2023. Over the same period, it monitored 131 critical incidents.
The commissioner has also asked the government for help speeding up the process of getting access to police materials during investigations.
“It’s important that there be a ready ability for the commission to get material from the police in a timely fashion to exercise its various functions and there are some issues in that space,” Johnson said.
